Alcohol-related Crime

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs. May) of 12 December 2005, Official Report, column 1707W, on alcohol-related crime, if he will break the figures down by constituency.

Derek Twigg: Data is not collected in this format. The information requested can therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost.

British Exports (Europe)

Adam Holloway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total value was of British exports to (a) the Eurozone area, (b) the pre-enlargement 15 EU member states and (c) the post-enlargement 25 EU member states in (i) 2005 and (ii) each quarter of 2005.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 3 March 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking for the total value of British exports to (a) the Eurozone area, (b) the pre-enlargement 15 EU member states and (c) the post-enlargement 25 EU member states in (i) 2005 and (ii) each quarter of 2005. (54956)
	The attached table shows exports on a Balance of Payments basis in £ million for goods and services for those quarters for which data are available. They are consistent with the UK Trade First Release published on 9 February 2006 and on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=1119
	
		
			   £ million 
			  Exports of goods Exports of services 
			  Eurozone area EU15 EU25 Eurozone area EU15 EU25 
		
		
			 2005 106,936 113,706 118,497 (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			
			 Q1 25,938 27,617 28,742 8,905 9,875 10,383 
			 Q2 26,282 27,953 29,143 8,624 9,571 10,056 
			 Q3 27,082 28,773 29,997 8,726 9,658 10,161 
			 Q4 27,634 29,363 30,615 (1)— (1)— (1)— 
		
	
	(1) Not available.

Local Authority Finance

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) gross domestic product and (b) GVA per capita was for each local authority area in (i) Kent, (ii) Surrey and (iii) Sussex in each of the last eight years; and what the equivalent average figures were for England in the same period.

Des Browne: The ONS does not produce gross domestic product data for local authorities. It does produce gross value added figures for counties and unitary authorities.
	The following tables show the latest total gross value added and gross value added per capita data for the unitary authorities in Kent, Surrey and Sussex for years 1996 to 2003. Further information is available on the ONS website at the following web address: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=7359
	
		Headline(2) gross value added (GVA)(3) per head by NUTS3 area at current basic prices 1996 to 2003 £ per head
		
			  1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 United Kingdom(4) 11,699 12,347 13,056 13,622 14,290 14,944 15,691 16,485 
			 England 11,608 12,324 13,126 13,691 14,247 14,938 15,711 16,521 
			 South East 11,884 12,706 13,733 14,456 15,187 15,977 16,791 17,631 
			 Surrey, East and West Sussex 12,013 12,780 13,639 14,298 15,057 15,926 16,772 17,599 
			 Brighton and Hove 10,936 11,196 11,501 11,892 12,748 13,919 15,027 15,924 
			 East Sussex CC 9,134 9,390 9,475 9,694 9,949 10,273 10,614 11,014 
			 Surrey 13,412 14,709 16,343 17,345 18,427 19,490 20,455 21,454 
			 West Sussex 12,289 12,805 13,281 13,808 14,425 15,279 16,207 17,051 
			 Kent 9,483 9,965 10,531 10,949 11,348 11,817 12,364 12,973 
			 Medway 7,496 7,987 8,611 9,119 9,498 9,855 10,307 10,807 
			 Kent CC 9,853 10,332 10,891 11,292 11,695 12,185 12,749 13,377 
		
	
	(2) The headline GVA series for this publication have been calculated using a five-period moving average.
	(3) Estimates of workplace based GVA allocate income to the region in which commuters work.
	(4) The GVA for Extra-Regio comprises compensation of employees and gross operating surplus which cannot be assigned to regions.
	
		Headline(5) gross value added (GVA)(6)(7) by NUTS3 area at current basic prices 1996 to 2003 £ million
		
			  1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 United Kingdom 680,477 720,028 763,443 799,387 841,505 883,412 930,796 981,732 
			 England 563,211 599,744 640,807 671,329 701,442 738,676 780,012 823,646 
			 South East 92,697 99,781 108,334 115,002 121,356 128,188 135,062 142,462 
			 Surrey, East and West Sussex 29,812 31,979 34,273 36,349 38,392 40,743 42,972 45,243 
			 Brighton and Hove 2,652 2,740 2,839 2,949 3,172 3,479 3,760 4,004 
			 East Sussex CC 4,385 4,527 4,595 4,744 4,892 5,066 5,249 5,464 
			 Surrey 13,827 15,281 16,999 18,312 19,477 20,663 21,709 22,839 
			 West Sussex 8,949 9,431 9,839 10,344 10,851 11,535 12,254 12,936 
			 Kent 14,594 15,399 16,344 17,115 17,851 18,682 19,660 20,756 
			 Medway 1,809 1,935 2,113 2,247 2,360 2,461 2,581 2,714 
			 Kent CC 12,785 13,464 14,232 14,868 15,492 16,221 17,079 18,043 
		
	
	(5) The headline GVA series for this publication have been calculated using a five-period moving average.
	(6) Estimates of workplace based GVA allocate income to the region in which commuters work.
	(7) Components may not sum to totals as a result of rounding.

Security Industry

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the contribution of the security industry makes to the UK economy; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 3 March 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what contribution the security industry makes to the UK economy. (54940)
	There are published statistics for industry Group 74.6 of the Standard Industrial Classification, 2003 which covers both investigation and security activities. The most recent figures available relate to 2004.
	The turnover of this sector of the UK economy, which consists of almost 6,000 businesses, was valued at £5.1 billion. Their approximate gross value added to the economy was £3.8 billion.

Post Offices

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) Crown post offices and (b) sub-post offices there were in each local authority area in Hampshire in (i) 1997, (ii) 2001 and (iii) the latest period for which figures are available; how many he expects there to be by 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. Alan Cook the Managing Director has been asked to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Care Support Services

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average age of children leaving care was in (a) Wakefield district and (b) Normanton constituency in (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005.

Beverley Hughes: Information on the average age of children who ceased to be looked after by Wakefield metropolitan borough council is shown below. This information is not collected centrally at district or constituency level.
	
		Children who ceased to be looked after during the years ending 31 March 2004 to 2005 by average age at end of latest period of care—Wakefield and England Number
		
			  2003–04 2004–05(10) 
		
		
			 Wakefield   
			 All ages—at end of stay (yr:mth) 10:08 10:10 
			 All ages—number who ceased to be looked after(11) 190 170 
			 Age 16 and over—average age at end of stay (yr:mth) 17:03 17:04 
			 Age 16 and over—number who ceased to be looked after(11) 60 50 
			
			 England   
			 All ages—average age at end of stay (yr:mth) 10:07 10:09 
			 All ages—number who ceased to be looked after(12) 25,800 25,600 
			 Age 16 and over—average age at end of stay (yr:mth) 17:06 17:06 
			 Age 16 and over—number who ceased to be looked after(12) 6,800 7,500 
		
	
	(10) Data for 2004–05 are provisional
	(11) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10
	(12) Figures are rounded to the nearest 100
	Source:
	DfES

Departmental Dwellings

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has for the selling-off of empty departmental private dwellings.

Don Touhig: (Holding reply Thursday 2 March 2006). The bulk of the married quarter estate in England and Wales was sold to Annington Homes Ltd (AHL) in 1996. Arrangements are in place for the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to lease back properties from AHL as required. When there is no MOD requirement, the lease is surrendered to AHL who dispose of it as they see fit.
	A copy of MOD's 'Disposals List' which is regularly updated, is available in the Library of the House.

Christmas Cards

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will estimate the cost to her Department of sending Christmas cards in 2005.

Jim Knight: The official 2005 Defra Christmas Card was produced at a cost of £4,000. 7 thousand cards were produced. Information relating to costs incurred on mailing Christmas cards from across Defra is not held centrally. To retrieve this information would incur disproportionate cost, as this is incurred at a local or individual level.
	All expenditure on Christmas cards is made in accordance with normal departmental financial procedures and principles based on those set out in Government Accounting.

Departmental Building (Guildford)

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the shuttle bus service proposed to service the departmental building at Merrow, Guildford will commence; whether a car-share co-ordinator has been appointed; and whether departmental staff have initiated a video-conferencing publicity campaign.

Jim Knight: Defra and IBM have agreed, in principle, to fund a "Park & Ride" type service to ferry commuters working at the Defra Site. We are in discussions with Guildford Borough Council and the preferred Bus Company, to try to identify a convenient location for the off-site parking of vehicles. The date for the commencement of this proposed service is dependant upon the identification of this site.
	Rather than appoint a car-share coordinator, Defra have evaluated the Surrey Car Share Scheme, promoted by Surrey County Council and are in the process of joining.
	Defra and IBM have access to full video conferencing facilities at the Guildford Defra Offices. We have already launched a poster campaign around the Site, to advertise the facilities and to encourage wider participation in this form of meeting communication. It is also intended to publicise the facility on the Guildford pages of the Defra Intranet. This will be an ongoing campaign strategy to re-iterate the benefits of such communication and re-enforce the positive message.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people were employed by the Rural Payments Agency in each of the last 12 months for which information is available; and how many and what percentage of posts were vacant in each region in each month.

Jim Knight: The number of people employed in the Rural Payments Agency in each of the last 12 months (as at the 1st of the month) was as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 March 2005 3,606 
			 April 2005 3,545 
			 May 2005 3,475 
			 June 2005 3,403 
			 July 2005 3,440 
			 August 2005 3,146 
			 September 2005 3,087 
			 October 2005 3,053 
			 November 2005 3,114 
			 December 2005 3,122 
			 January 2006 3,095 
			 February 2006 3,133 
		
	
	The number and percentage of posts (for which data is available) that were vacant, and addressed by external recruitment, in each region in each month was as follows:
	
		
			  Region Vacancies Percentage 
		
		
			 March 2005 South East 6 0.17 
			 
			 April 2005 South East 14 0.39 
			 
			 May 2005 South East 20 0.58 
			  North West 1 0.03 
			  North East 1 0.03 
			 
			  South West 1 0.03 
			 
			 June 2005 South East 9 0.26 
			  North West 2 0.06 
			  North East 2 0.06 
			  South West 2 0.06 
			 
			 July 2005 South East 16 0.46 
			  North West 1 0.03 
			  North East 1 0.03 
			  South West 1 0.03 
			 
			 August 2005 South East 19 0.6 
			  North West 2 0.06 
			  North East 1 0.03 
			  South West 2 0.06 
			 
			 September 2005 South East 11 0.36 
			  North East 137 4.44 
			 
			 October 2005 South East 5 0.16 
			  North West 100 3.27 
			 
			 November 2005 South East 6 0.19 
			 
			 December 2005 South East 19 0.6 
			  North West 19 0.6 
			  North East 19 0.6 
			  South West 19 0.6 
			 
			 January 2006 South East 12 0.39 
			  North West 23 0.74 
			  North East 12 0.39 
			  South West 12 0.39 
			 
			 February South East 4 0.13 
			  North West 20 0.64

Spending Review (Efficiency Targets)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what baseline figures he is using for assessing progress on the Cabinet Office's targets to (a) rationalise back office functions by continuing work on a shared corporate human resources centre with HM Treasury and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, (b) review back office systems and costs, (c) implement reforms in financial management and information technology and (d) improve procurement; what progress has been made towards these targets to date; and what the total efficiency savings achieved to date are for these targets.

Jim Murphy: The baseline against which these efficiencies are measured is the outturn expenditure for Cabinet Office for 2003–04 and our workforce headcount figures reported on 1 April 2004.
	The Cabinet Office achieved £1.2 million in efficiency savings in 2004–05. The breakdown across categories is shown in the table.
	
		
			  £ millions 
			 Category Savings 
		
		
			 Rationalisation of back office functions 0 
			 Review of back office systems and costs 0.6 
			 Financial management and IT reforms 0 
			 Improvements in procurement 0.6 
		
	
	Our Internal Audit Service is calculating an independent review of our progress for 2005–06, but the unaudited figures show us to be ahead of trajectory towards achieving our final 2007–08 target.

Swansea Pension Centre

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment has been made of customer service performance at the Swansea Pension Centre.

Stephen Timms: The most recent data for Swansea is in the following table.
	
		
			  Target January 2006 YTD 
		
		
			 Pension credit applications clearance (days) 10 11.91 9.07 
			 State pension claims clearance (percentage) (24)95 98.89 97.81 
			 Telephone calls answered (percentage) 92 92.3 93.6 
			 Telephone calls blocked (percentage) (25)1 0.0 0.0 
		
	
	(24) Within 60 days.
	(25) Less than.

Centrally-funded Expenditure

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what total expenditure on centrally funded initiatives, services and special allocations has been in each year since 199798; and what anticipated expenditure on centrally funded services and special allocations will be in 200506;
	(2)  what the total expenditure has been on (a) centrally financed initiatives and services and (b) special allocations for prevention in each financial year since 199798; and what the allocation for each is expected to be in 200506.

Liam Byrne: Total expenditure, including allocations to national health service bodies, from the centrally unded initiatives services and special allocations programme is shown in table 1.
	
		Table 1: Centrally funded initiatives services and special allocationstotal expenditure
		
			   million 
		
		
			 199798 5,495 
			 199899 6,598 
			 19992000 4,826 
			 200001 6,378 
			 200102 8,577 
			 200203 9,090 
			 200304 13,246 
			 200405 15,736 
		
	
	In 200506, the allocation is expected to be about 4 billion less as a result of primary care trust allocations being enhanced to include items previously included in these special allocations. In addition to the above central programme, the following sums for the HIV prevention special allocation were included in health authority (HA) initial allocations. From 200203 these funds were incorporated into HA baselines, which is shown in table 2.
	
		Table 2: HIV prevention special allocation
		
			   million 
		
		
			 199798 52 
			 199899 53 
			 19992000 53 
			 200001 55 
			 200102 55

General Practitioners

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent NHS general practitioners have been employed in the Uxbridge constituency in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not hold this information in the format requested. However, the table shows figures for all practitioners employed for the organisations that have served the Uxbridge constituency from 1997 to June 2005.
	
		All practitioners (excluding retainers)1 for selected organisations, 1997-June 2005England Estimated full-time equivalents
		
			   1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 June 2005 
		
		
			 Q04 North West London 1,107 1,097 1,055 1,044 1,064 1,056 1,087 1,131 1,141 
			 QA2 Hillingdon HA 127 132 128 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 4GP22 Hillingdon PCG n/a n/a n/a 129 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 5AT Hillingdon PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 131 129 132 140 134 
		
	
	n/a=data not applicable
	(30) All practitioners (excluding retainers) includes contracted general practitioners, general medical service others, personal medical service others and GP registrars.
	Notes:
	1. Full-time equivalent (FTE) data has been estimated using the results from the 199293 General Medical Practice Workload Survey
	For 19942003 full-time=1.00 FTE; three quarter time=0.69 FTE; job share=0.65 FTE; and half time=0.60 FTE
	For 2004All GPsfull-time 1.0 FTE; part time=0.6 FTE, and therefore may not be fully comparable with previous years.
	2. Primary care trusts(PCT)/primary care groups (PCG) did not come into existence until 1 April 2000, prior to this data was only available at health authority (HA) level which does not necessarily compare with present day organisational structure
	3. Data as at 1 October 199799, 30 September 200004 and 30 June 2005
	Source:
	NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre General and Personal Medical Services Statistics

Medicines

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the targets are being met for granting marketing authorisations set out in the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency business plan for 200506 for over-the-counter medicines; and how many application files are open.

Jane Kennedy: In the published business plan for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for 200506, assessment time targets are given for various types of licensing work, including variations to licences and new licences based on abridged dossiers. Specific targets are not given for over-the-counter medicines because these would be included with the abridged dossier applications.
	On the 21 February 2006, there were 2,490 new product licence applications at various stages of assessment of which 356 related to products potentially for over-the-counter supply.
	I am aware that the MHRA's performance regarding licence and variation approval times during the last nine months has been affected by a combination of adverse factors including increases in workload, difficulties in recruiting professional assessment staff, especially medically-qualified staff, and transitional implementation problems during the introduction of a new information management system. Though statistics for the full year 200506 are not yet available, it is likely that some of the target assessment times given in the plan will not be met.

Medicines

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) average and (b) longest time for the Medicines and Healthcare Products Agency to process (i) new, (ii) abridged and (iii) variation applications for marketing authorisations was in the last period for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has published statistics for the processing of product licence applications and variations during the full year 200405. The published figures relate to the total time taken from receipt of an application to its determination (grant or refusal) and also for the net time in working days taken by the MHRA. Net times for approval do not include the time taken for the applicant to respond to the MHRA's questions or for correction of the application.
	For abridged new licence applications in 200405, the gross and net times were 288 days and 122 days respectively. August 2004 had the longest times during 200405 for this type of work at 660 days and 180 days respectively.
	For licence variations in 200405, the net average time taken was approximately 50 days. The longest time taken exceeded 450 days in a small number of cases, including the time taken for the applicant to supply additional or amending information.
	For the relatively small number of completely new medicines, for example those containing new drugs and with the potential for meeting unmet medical needs in major diseases, the MHRA during this period has maintained its record of assessing these in under 40 days.

Medicines

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) longest and (b) average period the Medicines and Healthcare products Agency took to process (i) an abridged application and (ii) a variation was in (A) 2004 and (B) 2005.

Jane Kennedy: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has published statistics for the processing of product licence applications and variations for the full years 200304 and 200405. The published figures relate to the total time taken from receipt of an application to its determination (grant or refusal) and also for the net time in working days taken by the MHRA. Net times for approval do not include the time taken for the applicant to respond to the MHRA's questions or for correction of the application.
	For abridged new licence applications in 200304 the gross and net average times were 228 days and 113 days, and in 200405 were 288 days and 122 days respectively. July 2003 had the longest gross and net times for that year at 370 days and 140 days respectively. Likewise, August 2004 had the longest times during 200405 at 660 days and 180 days respectively.
	For licence variations in 200304 and 200405 the net average time taken was approximately 50 days in both years. The longest time taken, exceeded 450 days in a small number of cases, including the time taken for the applicant to supply additional or amending information.

Medicines

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) applications for marketing authorisation for over-the-counter products, (b) abridged applications and (c) variations were received by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Agency in each year since 2001.

Jane Kennedy: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) collects and publishes statistics on numbers of applications and processing times according to its April to March reporting years. The most recent full year for which figures are available is 200405.
	Marketing authorisation (product licence) applications for over-the-counter (OTC) medicines are almost invariably considered as a type of abridged application and so the figures provided in the table for abridged applications include the numbers of OTC medicine applications. The total numbers of all types of licence variations exceeds 20,000 each year. The figures provided in the table relate only to those variations to the licences OTC medicines.
	
		
			  200102 200203 200304 200405 
		
		
			 Abridged dossier product licence applications 1,160 1,244 1,673 1,119 
			 Product licence applications for OTC medicines 161 226 175 122 
			 Variations to OTC product licences 4,102 4,136 4,217 4,661

Nurses (South West London)

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses per 100 beds there have been in each hospital in South West London in each year since 1997.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		National health service hospital and community health services: Qualified nurses per 100 beds in the South West London area by specified trusts as at 30 September each specified year Headcount per 100 beds
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 0 0 157 156 142 179 205 212 
			 Kingston and District Community NHS Trust 51 38 84 80 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Kingston Hospital NHS Trust 171 214 178 186 152 177 180 185 
			 Mayday HealthCare NHS Trust 97 102 189 144 139 140 150 133 
			 Merton and Sutton Community Healthcare NHS Trust 34 32 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Richmond, Twickenham and Roehampton NHS Trust 220 80 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 186 191 199 215 211 243 270 292 
			 South West London and St. George's Mental Health NHS Trust 85 76 85 91 85 89 88 103 
			 South West London Community NHS Trust n/a n/a 56 45 65 n/a n/a n/a 
			 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 133 129 136 172 176 190 235 267 
			 St. Helier NHS Trust 173 166 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	n/a=not applicable
	Notes:
	1. Beds numbers are based on an average of those hospital beds that are available overnight over a 12 month period between 1 April and 31 May of the following year
	2. Nurses do not include community nursing staff
	Source:
	KH03 annual beds census
	NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census

Roadworks (Limavady)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what roadworks have been undertaken on Windyhill Road, Limavady within the past 12 months; and what the duration has been of each programme of work.

Shaun Woodward: The chief executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.
	Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin dated 3 March 2006
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question regarding what roadworks have been undertaken on Windyhill Road, Limavady within the past 12 months; and what has been the duration of each programme of work.
	I have been asked to reply as this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service.
	I can confirm that within the past 12 months, Roads Service carried out one improvement scheme on the Windyhill Road. This scheme was completed over an 8-week period during June/July 2005.
	I can also advise that on 27 February 2006, Roads Service commenced work on further identified improvement and resurfacing schemes along this route. These schemes, which involve working at 5 separate locations along Windyhill Road will be completed over an eight-week period, during which time the road will be closed to through traffic. The work has been programmed to keep traffic disruption to a minimum and provision has been made to ensure local access is facilitated.
	I hope this information is useful.